At least four children have been killed and several others injured in separate attacks in Gaza over the past five days, while strikes also destroyed a warehouse of UNICEF nutrition supplies and severely damaged a water facility.
The children killed included two boys, aged two and four, who died in separate strikes. A 10-year-old girl was killed by ground fire while inside her tent, while a 16-year-old boy died from serious injuries suffered in an earlier strike.
Meanwhile, three children aged eight, 10 and 17 were reportedly hit by live ammunition on August 25, while two 11-year-olds suffered shrapnel injuries following strikes. The children sustained life-changing injuries.
A warehouse containing more than $770,000 worth of UNICEF nutrition supplies was destroyed by a nearby strike on August 25.
The supplies were meant to support more than 40,500 vulnerable children aged between six and 23 months, as well as 4,900 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
A UNICEF-supported water well and desalination facility in the Deir Al Balah area was severely damaged by a nearby strike on August 24.
More than 4,000 people, including about 2,000 children, depend on the facility for safe drinking water. UNICEF and its partners are providing emergency water trucking to affected families while the facility remains out of operation.
“Children are being killed and injured, while those who survive are seeing essential services and supplies that they depend on destroyed,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Beyond the loss of life, the destruction of vital supplies and damage to essential services continue to deepen the suffering of children and families already struggling to survive.”
However, access to safe and sufficient water remains critical to children’s health, particularly during the peak summer months.
UNICEF said 70 per cent of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged, while 63 per cent of the population cannot access even six litres of drinking water per person daily.
UNICEF has called for full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, including the protection of children, civilian infrastructure and essential services vital to their survival and wellbeing.
The agency also called for rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
